SATURDAY JUNE 8 11am-2pm

First Church Burns Hall and Grounds,

415 Moray Place Dunedin

FOR SALE:- Books and MusicCakes,  Bric-a-Brac, Clothing: Silent Auction Jewellery, Pikelets, Tool Shop   

Stay for Brunch or Lunch Cook Islands Group    -   serving plates of hot food ,Samoan Group -  serving ethnic food;

 Tea, Coffee, Hot Soup.

 This Sunday we remember and celebrate Trinity Sunday. Although the theology of the Trinity can be complex and sometimes seen as unnecessary, it is critical to our understanding of community. Our unity and life of community as a church is grounded within the unity and community of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A classical Trinitarian understanding of God is “one in essence, distinguished in three persons.” For theologian, Daniel Migliore, the triune God is essentially a communion of persons in love, whereby God is “self-expending, other-affirming, community-building love.” To confess that God is triune is to affirm that God exists in community. Therefore, being in community with one another can be understood as God’s will for people.

The challenge for us as a congregation here at First Church is how can we live out our community life in such a way that, like the Trinity, we are “self-expending, other-affirming, community-building love”? Last week, Anne and I attended the South Island Ministry Conference held at East Taieri Presbyterian Church. The main speaker for the

conference was former television journalist and church pastor Rob Harley who addressed the issue of communicating the gospel to non-church folk. One of the points that he shared (though not totally new) that stuck with me is that

people watch and evaluate how we live a Christian community. The message they receive is not so much what we say about our beliefs, but how credible is our care for them as strangers or as outsiders who are trying to understand what we are all about. This happens when we are prepared to widen the boundaries of community by scatter ourselves to share God’s grace. The other point that impressed on me by Rob was that, as Christians or as a community of God,

we can be content to live with the mystery of God. We do not have to claim that we have all the answers to people’s problems and, therefore, by sharing a sense of vulnerability with others, we are all open to God’s mercy and grace.

Perhaps you may have your own ideas about how we can be a community of God here at First Church of Otago. Perhaps you might have some helpful and practical suggestions on how we can build up or extend the boundaries of our

community to include others. I would be most grateful to have a conversation with you to see how we can make this happen together.

Tokerau

 SUNDAY WORSHHIP AT FIRST CHURCH

 10am Morning Worship,  12 noon Cook Islands Service,  2.00pm Samoan Service

Ministers: Revs Tokerau Joseph and Anne Thomson – Office Phone 477 7150

 JUNE COMMUNION SUNDAY 9 JUNE at 11am